21ST CENTURY GETS HIGH MARKS FROM RATING COMPANY.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS - Six years after nearly being driven out of business by the Northridge Earthquake, 21st Century Insurance Co. on Tuesday received an A+ rating for 2000 from A.M. Best.

That's Best's highest rating and reflects improvements the company has made to its balance sheet over the last five years. Last year the Woodland Hills-based company received an A rating.

Best is the nation's oldest insurance rating service and its marks are important to buyers of insurance or annuities because it tells them whether a company is financially sound. The ratings are also important to investors.

After the devastating quake, the rating of the company, then known as 20th Century, fell to a B-.

Policy holders filed more than 46,400 earthquake-related claims and the company paid out more than $1.1 billion. Earthquake losses totaled more than the entire profits the company had earned during its preceding 35 years of operation.

The company also sustained considerable damage to its Woodland Hills headquarters and three claim facilities in the area.

Best's current review of 21st Century noted that the A+ rating ``reflects consistently strong operating trends, superior capitalization and leadership position in the California automobile insurance market.''

After the earthquake the big insurer exhausted its capital resources and was forced to liquidate about $500 million of its investment portfolio. The company raised capital by borrowing $175 million in long-term bank debt, which was reduced to $45 million as of March 31, 2000.

The company also sold a major stake to American International Group Inc., a leading U.S.-based international insurance and financial services firm and the largest underwriter of commercial and industrial insurance in the United States.

``The rating upgrade . . . is a validation of the years of dedicated work by every one of our employees, who have been committed to returning our company to its position of financial strength,'' company President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Marlow said in a statement.

The company now has $1.2 billion in assets.

Founded in 1958, 21st Century operates in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The company also provides homeowners insurance in California.

POSITIVE PROGRESS

Since the earthquake, 21st Century Insurance has received increasingly positive ratings from A.M. Best.

--1995...B-

--1996...B+

--1997...A-

--1998...A-

--1999...A

--2000...A+

SOURCE: 21st Century Insurance Co.

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